Oyo won’t abandon LAUTECH for new varsity –Ajimobi

The Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, on Monday said that the state government had no plan to overlook the problems of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, in order to concentrate on the new Technical University established by the administration.

The governor spoke at an interactive session aired on the state-owned broadcasting corporation and other private radio stations in the state to commemorate his six years as the governor.

LAUTECH is jointly owned by Oyo and Osun states but the school is faced with financial problems as both states struggle to fulfil their financial obligations to it. The governor admitted that the present financial situation of the two states made it difficult for them to sustain the financial commitment to the institution.

Asked if the establishment of a new university was the right response when an existing one was facing financial challenges, Ajimobi said that the state would remain a joint owner of LAUTECH and that it only provided the take-off grant for the new university.

“The Technical University is a unique system that will be self-sustaining and self-financing. We have only given the seed money but other financing will be sourced for.

“Some private universities charge between N1m and N3m as tuition but LAUTECH students only pay around N70,000. Osun State has a university where students pay around N200,000 in tuition. We have asked auditors to go and examine the LAUTECH situation so that we can come up with a solution,” said the governor.